Fall / Winter 2024 | 5 Published By: Matrix Group Publishing Inc. Publication Mail Agreement Number: 40609661 Return all undeliverable addresses to: 309 Youville Street Winnipeg, MB R2H 2S9 Toll-Free: (866) 999-1299 Toll-Free Fax: (866) 244-2544 sales@matrixgroupinc.net www.matrixgroupinc.net President & CEO Jack Andress Operations Manager Shoshana Weinberg sweinberg@matrixgroupinc.net Senior Publisher Jessica Potter jpotter@matrixgroupinc.net Publishers Julie Welsh, Christine Scarisbrick Editor-in-Chief Shannon Savory ssavory@matrixgroupinc.net Editors / Social Media Managers Jenna Collignon, Paul Adair, Kaitlin Vitt Finance / Administration Lloyd Weinberg, Nathan Redekop accounting@matrixgroupinc.net Director of Circulation & Distribution Lloyd Weinberg distribution@matrixgroupinc.net Sales Manager Jeff Cash jcash@matrixgroupinc.net Matrix Group Publishing Inc. 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CERCA’S WORD 07 A Message from the Chair ON THE COVER 08 Training and Maintaining Your Dangerous Goods Emergency Response Teams FEATURES 13 Transport Canada and CERCA Working Together for a Safer Transportation System 16 LSEP Online Training: Are You Prepared? 17 A Stacked Deck with Wildcard Excavation 20 TRANSCAER Canada Prepares for the Launch of its New Safety Train CERCA SERVING YOU 22 The Founding Fathers of Canadian Emergency Response 24 Meet CERCA’s Contractor Members 26 INDEX TO ADVERTISERS TABLE OF FALL / WINTER 2024 08 20 16 17 CONTENTS On the Cover: To run a dangerous goods response team, you need to abide with health and safety legislation and hold a valid transportation of dangerous goods certification. But this is just the start of your journey – you also need to train and maintain that team. Photo courtesy of Timothy Ian Smith and Andrew Matsubara at Transport Canada. RESPONDER THE THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE CANADIAN EMERGENCY RESPONSE CONTRACTORS’ ALLIANCE CERCA: FALL / WINTER 2024 Canada Post Mail Publications Agreement Number: 40609661 CERCA: THE RESPONDER Published For: Canadian Emergency Response Contractors’ Alliance c/o Shawn Barton 200-5035 South Service Road Burlington, ON L7L 6M9 Tel: (416) 253-6000 shawn.barton@qmenv.com www.cerca-aceiu.ca To advertise in next issue, contact sales@matrixgroupinc.net / 866-999-1299. Read past issues at https://www.cerca-aceiu.ca/the-responder.Fall / Winter 2024 | 7 • Essential requirements for training qualified environmental emergency response teams. • Strategies for maintaining team readi- ness and adaptability in diverse scenar- ios. • Current and upcoming programs sup- porting CERCA member team develop- ment. • Innovative approaches to sustainable emergency response practices. Initiatives such as these are crucial for ensuring our response teams remain effi- cient, informed, and prepared to tackle emerging threats. By focusing on sustain- ability, we aim to not only respond effec- tively to emergencies but also minimize our environmental impact in the process. Collaborative path forward As we approach 2025, let’s continue strengthening our collective capabilities. By prioritizing training and sustainability, we ensure CERCA members are equipped with cutting-edge knowledge and methodologies for effective emergency response. Our com- mitment to collaboration extends beyond our organization, as we seek to forge stronger partnerships with government agencies, aca- demic institutions, and industry leaders to create a more resilient emergency response network across Canada. I’m pleased to announce that the CERCA community will reconvene this November for our 54th semi- annual general meeting in Quebec City. This gathering offers an invaluable opportunity for collaboration, knowledge sharing, and stra- tegic planning for the future of emergency response in Canada. I encourage all members to participate actively and contribute their insights to shape our collective path forward. Thank you for your dedication and unwavering commitment to excellence. Together, we make a significant difference in safeguarding our people and planet. As we look to the future, I am confident that CERCA will continue to lead the way in inno- vative, effective, and sustainable emergency response practices, set- ting new standards for our industry and con- tributing to a safer, more resilient Canada. s Chairman of the Canadian Emergency Response Con- tractor’s Alliance (CERCA), I am honoured to reflect on our achievements over the past year and share our vision for 2025. Our organization has made significant strides in enhancing emergency response capabilities across Canada, and I am excited to high- light our progress and future direction. Recognizing our emergency response professionals As we conclude another dynamic year, I extend my deepest gratitude to all Emer- gency Response professionals across vari- ous disciplines. Your unwavering dedica- tion ensures the safety and well-being of our communities and environment. The CERCA network proudly stands with you, committed to enhancing our impact in this critical sector. Your tireless efforts, often in challenging and hazardous conditions, exemplify the highest standards of profes- sionalism and commitment to public safety. Adapting to a changing landscape Our world is rapidly evolving, presenting new challenges for emergency response: • Increasingly extreme weather events, bringing unique risks and response requirements both within and beyond industrial settings. • Technological advancements introduc- ing new environmental risks. • Shifting demographic patterns and urbanization affecting emergency response strategies. These changes underscore the importance of maintaining robust emergency response capabilities across all sectors. CERCA is com- mitted to staying at the forefront of these evolving challenges, continuously adapt- ing our strategies and resources to meet the demands of our changing world. CERCA’s focus: training and sustainability To address these challenges, CERCA is intensifying its efforts on training and sus- tainability. In this issue, we present articles exploring: CERCA'S WORD MEET THE CERCA TEAM CHAIR Shawn Barton QM Environmental Tel: (236) 983-1537 Shawn.Barton@qmenv.com VICE-CHAIR Andy Jeves NUCOR Environmental Solutions Ltd. Tel: (604) 910-6796 andyj@nucorenv.ca TREASURER Jessica Cain GFL Environmental Services Inc. Tel: (437) 997-1886 jkovatch@gflenv.com SECRETARY John Zaidan Cameco Tel: (306) 956-8060 john_zaidan@cameco.com PAST CHAIR David Hill GFL Environmental Services Inc. Tel: (416) 458-9096 david.hill@gflenv.com COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR Shawn Barton QM Environmental Tel: (236) 983-1537 Shawn.Barton@qmenv.com Shawn Barton Chair, CERCA8 | The official publication of the Canadian Emergency Response Contractors’ Alliance n Canada, we tend to struggle with the ‘catch-22’ of needing to maintain highly skilled and proficient dangerous goods response teams, without the frequency and diversity of incidents needed to establish and maintain these skills. To overcome this dilem- ma, professional contractors like those at the Canadian Emergency Response Contractors’ Alliance (CERCA) and in-house response teams must look past training and skill-specific drills to form the foundation of their train- ing programs. We have seen that the most successful programs go beyond the minimum standards and regulatory (Transports Canada’s Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations, Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Environmen- tal Emergency Regulations), have adopted or recommended levels of competency through United States’ standards and / or have established programs for their asso- ciated employees, members, and regula- tees. In the case of the Emergency Response Assistance Plan Program under Transport Canada, the type and level of training that a response team maintains is assessed prior to the approval to ship associated dangerous goods within Canada. Applicable standards include: • NFPA 470, Hazardous Materials / Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Standard for Responders • 29 CFR 1910.120 – Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Established training standards and programs from trade associations include: • The Chlorine Institute (TCI) – Chlo- rine specific training (online), annual hands-on training, first responder out- reach training through TransCAER ® • International Fertilizer Association (IFA) – Ammonia and fertilizer train- ing programs, first responder aware- ness training • Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) – First responder awareness training, Canadian Emer- gency Response to Flammable liquids in Transport training Both Responsible Distribution Canada (RDC) and the Chemistry Industry Asso- ciation of Canada (CIAC) have also estab- lished mandatory codes of practice for their members related to the safe han- dling, transport, and emergency response to associated hazardous materials. When we evaluate what exists in these standards and associated programs, we see that there are varying levels of implemen- tation and skill acquisition that are avail- able to a participant, and that the courses guidance and take the time to evaluate the skills needed to perform the tactics in the field, as well as seek to establish the appropriate knowledge acquisition levels needed to perform the tactics safe- ly and proficiently as a team. Let’s quickly discuss what the reg- ulatory guidance and associated stan- dards look like in Canada. To be a dan- gerous goods response team in Canada you need to start with simply abiding by your applicable health and safety legisla- tion and to hold a valid transportation of dangerous goods certification. Meeting the standards Emergency first responders, trade associations, and applicable regulators ON THE COVER By Sarah Hassanally, CRSP, MDEM and Mark Jasper, CRSP at GHD Training and Maintaining Your Dangerous Goods Emergency Response Teams The most successful training programs take the time to ensure their teams have the skill and creativity for any response tactics – wherever and whenever they might be needed. Photo courtesy of Transport Canada.Fall / Winter 2024 | 9 › Listing scrubbing equipment › Viewing of scrubbing demonstration • Acquisition › List steps of scrubbing procedure › Demonstrate scrubbing with team leader assistance › Consolidation › Demonstrate scrubbing with minimal team leader assistance provided are only a starting point for continued learning and con- solidation, not refinement. Building a team Understanding skill acquisition ensures that you are provid- ing team members with sufficient training and the practice needed to perform a task safely and effectively. The various stages of skill acquisition are: • Initiation – first contact with a skill • Acquisition – coordination of key elements in the correct order • Consolidation – execution of the movements of the skill in the correct order with no modifying factors • Refinement - Execution of the skill in a way that is very close to the idea model in terms of form and speed, with modifying factors • Creative Variation – Execution of the skill performed accord- ing to the ideal model, responsive to modifying factors through creative variation of the skill A team may have a mixture of skill levels, but we need to understand what that balance is so that we are able to maintain competency and safety for any given operation. Ideally, we are looking for the organization’s team leaders to possess a creative variation skill level for any response tactic. They would be able to execute the tactic in various geographies, from -40 to +40 degrees Celsius, and handle other variations that may be present in remote location. Team members who are working under the guidance of a team leader may only have a skill acquisition between consolidation and refinement. When we understand how skill acquisition works, we can then determine what skill acquisition level is needed for the tactics the dangerous goods response team needs to perform. Finally, we need to ensure we are testing our members in their performance to maintain this skill level. Emergency exer- cises, specifically functional drills, are an excellent way to test the skills of a team. As an example, for scrubbing corrosive gases during a trans- fer the skill progression is as follows: • Initiation › Definition of scrubbing › Identify different scrubbing compounds Continued on page 11Next >